Recently I won a contest through Lace & Race with two different types of chia bars (Health Warrior Coconut Chia Bars and
Bearded Brother's Energy Bars), and Mamma Chia sent me some Chia Squeezes, so I
found myself trying this 'superfood'.
The verdict? I absolutely loved it! I enjoyed it as a runners snack;
before and during and after.

To be honest – they sent me some samples of their
product, but my reviews and thoughts are my own! However, I love the product.
They have the cutest tagline 'Seed your Soul'. I was afraid I would not like the texture, but
on the contrary, I loved the consistency of the 'gel' and the crunch of the
seeds. I really loved how easy it was to get out of the packets (even easier
than the baby food and considerably easier than the nut butters). Each packet
was 70 Calories and contained Chia, fruits, and vegetables. They contain 1200
mg of Omega 3 (and some 6), calcium, fiber, protein, and are gluten and vegan
free. I have been looking for healthier snack options and these are an
excellent choice. They went down smooth during a run, were tasty, and had
no...err..bad fiber side effects afterwards.

I did not
feel the rush of energy after eating this that I felt with gels, but I did feel
fuller faster and longer than other 'less than 100 calorie' snacks. This
product also has no caffeine and tasted great refrigerated or not. I found I
preferred them not as is, without chilling. Another aspect I love dis that it
was not too sweet. Sometimes the gels can be overpowering – and this was just
right in sweetness for me.

They have
four flavors:

Blackberry Bliss – Blackberries and carrots created
this squeeze which was my favorite of the four!

Green Magic -
Kale, Spirulina, and Chlorella make this one green, but the added mango
and other juice flavors make it sweet and yummy. This was my second favorite.

Strawberry Banana – This tasted very similar to the
baby food squeezes. I loved the added beets and two of my favorite flavors.

Apple Cinnamon -
Apples and cinnamon are not my favorite flavors (in fact I really
dislike cinnamon). With an aversion to cinnamon, this was my least favorite.
Although I loved the texture, in the end I could not really stomach the taste
of the cinnamon and gave a friend the other and she loved it.

This product is Ashley Koff approved (a renowned
dietician who is always looking for healthier foods), USDA organic, and part of
the non-gmo project. They are a little pricier at $1.74-$2.49 (8 for $17.99 or
16 for $27.99) and currently have free shipping on all orders (with 1% of gross
sales going back to 1% For the Planet). They also come with 100% Satisfaction
guaranteed – if you 'are not completely delighted' contact them for a refund. If you do not have a problem with
consistency- you should love these!

I won a whole box of these from the contest- of my
choice! Well I love coconut, so this was an easy choice!! This bar is also
filled with much of the same goodness as the Chia Squeezes. They feature 1000mg of Omega 3, 4g
dietary Fiber, 3g protein, and antioxidants. It is also Gluten free, Dairy
free, Soy free, and Vegan friendly. This are made with white chia seeds (I am
told there is no nutritional difference between white and dark seeds) and they
are smaller than most snack 'bars' (as you can see in the picture).

They are filling for being so tiny though and did I
mention these are yummy! I love the coconut flavor – if you do not like
coconut- you will not like these. I have a friend who loves the Chocolate
Peanut Butter Chia Bars instead. The texture was amazing! These are dense, yet
are crunchy, crispy, and have just the right amount of chewiness. They are low calorie
at 100 per bar. When I tried to run
with these though, they weighed heavier in my stomach than the chia squeeze
gels. After that, I mostly used as a snakc and gave up with them being a prerun
or during run fuel. Another negative is they can also be a bit pricey at $3
each ($45 for 15 bars). However, I have seen them on Amazon.com for as low as
$20.99 for the box of 15(with Prime if you have it).

View full sizeMy Contest winnings from Lace and RaceMaryalicia Verdecchia

I won a
variety pack of 4 different energy bars with the contest. These are also a bit
pricey at $3 each but they are much bigger!
Low in calories for the amount of goodies inside - about 230-277 calories each
for 2oz of bar. Look at the ingredients
inside! A minimalists dream! Paleo and raw diet friendly. Although I enjoyed
these bars, they were a little too diet tasting for me. I loved that they were handmade, 100% organic, mostly raw, gluten free,
and vegan friendly and the packaging was compostable! However, I did not find
them to be 'amazingly delicious' as stated on the website. Again- for the
little ingredients they had, they were good – just not great or my cup of tea.
They all were filling but felt a little heavy in my stomach, so I did not try
to run with these. The texture is chewy
with a bit of crunch form the nuts as well.

The 'brothers' are active trail runners
and created these bars to fuel long trail runs and rock climbing trips. I
imagine they would be great for hiking too. The bar is great for a 'not too
sweet' snack (or filling meal replacement as I ate them for breakfast). These
expire quickly though due to the raw food nature of the product.

View full sizeMy power bars made from the Elantra's Pantry Recipe with Chia seeds instead of flaxMaryalicia Verdecchia

Three great products and three great options for trying chia. I loved chia so much, I ordered a bag and started experimenting with receipes and making my own chia gels. Not bad, but so far these products taste consirably better :P

Some people say you can eat
unlimited chia. I don't know.With all the fiber, I believe chia seeds can have
drawbacks. Some have found the fiber to be a little too much for them as one
reader mentioned it was not for her after she nearly had an accident in her
split shorts. Also, as mentioned in a couple of websites - eating too many chia
seeds can cause cramping if you over do the consumption. I haven't had any issues and I am am loving the 'full' effect!